Is It Bad To Go To Dealer For Service

Media Platforms Blueprint Team

What'south a good reason to take your car to the dealer for routine maintenance, rather than to the guy with two bays and a individual shop?

Let's use Ford as an example. If you ain a Ford vehicle, the Ford dealership volition have Ford-trained technicians who work on Ford vehicles 95 to 100 percent of the time. During that time they will apply Ford resources and Ford training to repair your vehicle correctly, and (ideally) they have Ford classes and attend Ford schools to keep up on their noesis. With the other guy, information technology's a tossuphe may work on two Fords 1 calendar week and not see some other for a month. Also, on regular maintenance information technology can sometimes be cheaper, not more expensive. To become an oil change and tire rotation where I live, the Ford dealer is $38.95 plus tax, and Sears wants $75.

So information technology's not necessarily more expensive, and they know more nigh your car. Whatever other reason?

Often times at Jiffy Lube or wherever they're paid past the 60 minutes, and they're not necessarily trained to know your vehicle. And that tin can price you your engine. If I could get half of what I've charged customers to replace engines that were screwed upward by Jiffy Lube and Walmart, for such things equally non enough oil, too much oil, the wrong weight of oil, wrong filter, loose filter or any combination of the above, I could accept retired a long time agone. In that location's no point to spending $30,000 to $40,000 on a new vehicle and and then trying to become cheap on the maintenance.

What's an instance of a mutual tactic by dealers to pad the neb?

So-chosen shop supplies. That is, and always has been, the biggest crock of crap I've e'er seen, and it'southward been going on for years! It is essentially similar to going to a nice restaurant, getting your check and finding you've been billed for napkins and silverware, which are necessary costs of the food service business. Shop supplies include, merely are not limited to, shop rags, lubricantsthis isn't the motor oil, transmission fluid, restriction fluid and steering fluid they might put in your carand the cost of disposing of used oil. These are only some of the necessary costs of doing the auto repair business concern. Some dealers do non charge for them, simply about practice, and what is considered shop supplies is at the discretion of each individual dealer. I've seen a client go billed for $30 in store supplieson top of their estimatefor the use of iii shop rags! For that toll, I can buy 20 rolls of shop towels at Auto Zone.

If you got a bill that had shop supplies on it, what would yous do?

Ask to run into exactly what that means. Ask to meet the precise items they really used. Challenge them on information technology. You might not get them to knock information technology off your neb, but you should effort.

You also said that dealer service departments too oft recommend fluid flushes and replacements that aren't called for past the owner's manual. The dealers cite the "severe utilise" schedule that doesn't apply to the vast majority of us. Should drivers just veto a service or fluid replacement that isn't recommendedin the owner'southward manualunder the normal or lite-duty service requirements?

Yes, you should become by what the possessor'due south manual recommends for normal apply. And, yep, this is a common practice, and I detest to acknowledge that. When I was a customer relations managing director, I had a service manager who would [bate people into buying the fluid changes] by showing new fluid versus used fluid. She made more than I did just in flush commissions, but had the worst customer satisfaction surveys. I have ever stuck to the manufacturer recommendations, and my Escape has over 310,000 miles on information technology. Less than v percent of drivers operate their cars under conditions that would exist accounted "severe." The ones who do are normally taxi or pizza-delivery drivers, or those who frequently take their SUV or truck off-road.

What's the single best slice of advice you'd offer to a friend nearly servicing his car at the dealer?

A dealer won't come right out and say it, but if you have your regular service piece of work done at the dealer... (considering warranty work pays the dealer a lot less than service piece of work), your value to the dealership increases. Here's an example: Suppose your vehicle goes out of warranty and a week subsequently you have a catastrophic failure. If you lot have shown loyalty to the dealership by using them for regular service piece of work, they will be more than inclined to help youas opposed to the person who buys a car there and takes it somewhere else for regular service, and just brings it in for warranty work.

So it's about building a relationship with the dealer?

Yes. You lot demand to know that dealers brand very little on car sales. And warranty service doesn't pay every bit much as regular maintenance. But if they see that tape that you've been loyal to them, they'll likely be loyal to yous.

What'south a sign that a dealership doesn't value that human relationship?

Constant turnover at the service desk. You should get the name of the person at the desk-bound. You should enquire for him or her. If that person's different every time, it's not a good sign. Good auto service work starts with a relationship between the advisor and the customer, and that cannot exist obtained when the client sees a new advisor every time he comes in. I ever knew the person'due south car, I pulled up its history, and that's something people appreciate. But if that person is new or is always irresolute, they don't know yous or your car stuff gets missed, and that's typically not good for you or your motorcar.

How come a dealer might charge you 30 percent more for a part than you tin observe it for at AutoZone?

It'due south ane of the hang-ups I've always had about domestic automakers. You can ofttimes buy their parts cheaper at the auto parts shop than yous tin can at the dealership parts counter. And the dealer knows this, but he tin can't practice anything well-nigh it. The problem is that even though that's truthful, the dealer doesn't want to install a part that he didn't source, because if information technology fails, how does he warranty information technology?

So what practise y'all do as the customer?

There's not a lot you can do. They can install the function if you lot went out and bought it, but well-nigh won't.

Speaking of AutoZone, you can have your car there to accept them read what a Check Engine lite means. How authentic will that reading exist?

Check Engine lights are big moneymakers for dealers and also the blight of a service director's existence. Anyone can employ a lawmaking reader. But what does the lawmaking mean? For every code there need to exist additional diagnostics. I've had customers come in and tell me to bandy some part, because they're sure it'south the problem. Just all that is is a really expensive guess. They might exist right ten to twenty per centum of the time, close xx percentage of the time, and dead incorrect sixty pct of the time. I had a client go through six oxygen sensors when all information technology was was a shorted wire.

What'south the smartest thing y'all can buy from the dealer?

A make-name extended service contract. Then if y'all're buying a Ford, go a Ford contract. If information technology's a Toyota, buy the Toyota contract. The opposite is also true. Never buy the extended service contract that'southward generically offered through the dealer but isn't backed by the brand of car they sell.

How come?

Because the people who fulfill the generic contracts are paid by how little service they have to do. So they fight the dealer on every penny. They'll want to see the entire labor record on the car. They won't want to pay for parts. They'll fight on the price of the labor. In the end, the customer is going to have to eat some of that cost, even though the contract supposedly covers the auto.

What's the worst mean solar day of the week to get your car serviced?

Friday afternoon after lunch, because the service department is trying to push out as many vehicles as possible. Perchance a car has been there since Monday waiting on parts. Perhaps there are a few cars like that. Then people pour in around lunchtime wanting oil changes. And at that place are the cars at that place already with appointments, and everyone's in a blitz to get it all done. Make an appointment for a Monday forenoon as early as possible. Information technology's a lot more than orderly, and they'll practise a improve job.